Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) had its price target upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $3,940.00 to $4,510.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

BKNG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Booking from $5,050.00 to $5,550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Booking from $4,200.00 to $4,600.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $4,100.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Booking from $4,285.00 to $4,580.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Booking from $4,100.00 to $5,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4,680.18.

Booking Stock Performance

BKNG stock opened at $4,749.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $157.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $4,136.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3,886.98. Booking has a fifty-two week low of $2,756.39 and a fifty-two week high of $4,856.60.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 166.06% and a net margin of 21.85%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $37.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Booking will post 177.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $8.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Booking’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.75%.

Insider Activity at Booking

In other Booking news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,722,379.07. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKNG. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Booking by 1.9% during the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 157 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC grew its stake in Booking by 1.7% during the first quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in Booking by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,153,000 after acquiring an additional 3 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Booking by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 3 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Booking

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.